For press releases from the U.N., see:
UN-backed ecological report warns of potential new diseases and ‘dead zones’
FIRST GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF ECOSYSTEMS ‘UNPRECEDENTED CONTRIBUTION’ TO DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABILITY, PEACE, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL
From the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), see:
Earth’s Ecosystems Crucial for Economic, Social, & Spiritual Stability
For a news summary, see:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/
03/30/UNEnvironment0330.html
and for the actual report itself, with summaries and slide presentations, see:
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
and "Linking Local Knowledge to Global Science"
I am grateful for the fact that some still see room for debate here, especially given the impression I have of (too) many persons who proceed with their daily lives, unquestioning if not oblivious, who seemingly accept the current order as normal, 'natural', and without alternatives. Indeed, they are willing to bring new children into such an environment...a 'vote of confidence' in favour of the dominant system?
A majority of the CAC Editors recently voted to terminate a robot. That robot was named "A.N.A.C.A.O.N.A." (Anything About the Aboriginal Caribbean from an Online Networked Assistant). The experiment lasted just over two years and while at first there seemed to be, at best, mixed results, eventually it became apparent that the project was a failure on many counts. The robot, made available via Pandorabots, using AIML software, would routinely fail to follow the simple context of a conversation and would thus lead users astray. In many cases, the robot inadvertently offended users even when its knowledge base should have enabled it to give a correct answer. For example, if asked "how many" indigenous descendants were living in Cuba, it would answer something to the effect of "none as far as I know". In fact, as the programmer, all I could train the robot to know was that there are indeed indigenous descendants in Cuba, but not how many. The appearance and the name of the robot also disturbed a number of users, who in most cases simply refused to understand that the resource was made available to us for free, but under severe limitations. In addition, the robot seemed to attract an inordinate amount of sexual attention (what is so erotic about a piece of talking software is itself intriguing), with conversations often degenerating into frustration and aggression--hardly the aims that the Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink would wish to pursue. Meant to serve as a more visually engaging, interactive and talking version of a FAQ list, especially one that might appeal to young children, it instead became the vehicle for childish behavior. As a more modern means of paying tribute to, and extending the memory of, the historical Anacaona (about whom the CAC continues to maintain 